A Russian spy ship has been escorted out of the Irish Sea after it entered Irish-controlled waters and patrolled an area containing critical energy and internet submarine pipelines and cables.
It was spotted on Thursday east of Dublin and south-west of the Isle of Man but Norwegian, US, French and British navy and air defence services initially observed it accompanying a Russian warship, the Admiral Golovko, through the English channel last weekend.
The Irish navy ship the LÉ James Joyce escorted it out of the Irish exclusive economic zone (EEZ) at about 3am on Friday with the air corps continuing to monitor its movements as it headed south.
Its presence has raised fresh concerns about the security of the interconnector cables that run between Ireland and the UK carrying global internet traffic from huge datacentres operated by tech companies including Google and Microsoft, which have their EU headquarters sited in Ireland.
The sighting of the Russian intelligence ship came as British defence forces monitored other Russian vessels near its eastern coastal waters. On Thursday, British jets were also scrambled to monitor a Russian reconnaissance aircraft flying close to UK airspace, the Ministry of Defence said.
The ship was also spotted on Monday and Tuesday west of Cork, where there are another set of connectors between Ireland and France, some offering transatlantic interconnection.
At one point it was positioned just inside the Irish EEZ, 5-7km (3.1 to 4.3 miles) north of the cables connecting Ireland and the UK.
Edward Burke, an assistant professor in the history of war at University College Dublin, told the Examiner the situation was alarming.
“Once again we see the Russian navy probing the defences of western Europe. It’s yet another wake-up call – one that we shouldn’t need – that Ireland needs to bolster its naval capabilities and deepen its maritime security partnerships in Europe,” he said.
It is understood defence forces in Ireland observed the ship operating three drones over Irish waters, raising fears it was conducting surveillance.
Concerns over critical infrastructure around Europe have been raised on multiple occasions this year after the alleged sabotage of the Baltic gas pipeline and undersea internet cables between Finland and Estonia. In August, China admitted that a Hong Kong-flagged ship damaged the pipeline but said it was accidental.
The Yantar is officially classed as an auxiliary general oceanographic research vessel with underwater rescue capabilities. It is tasked by an arm of the Russian defence ministry and is separate from its navy.
It can deploy deep-diving submersibles and has been seen operating close to seabed infrastructure on a number of occasions by open source intelligence analysts, according to Navy Lookout intelligence analysts. The analysts said the ship’s mission was “probably more about strategic signalling and intelligence gathering” than sabotage.
Irish and British defence forces have worked together since the vessels entered waters off the coast of the UK with a significant multinational operation put in place.
The Yantar was travelling with Golovko and a tanker, Vyazma, and both vessels were monitored throughout their journey in the English channel by RFA Tideforce and HMS Iron Duke.
They then handed over surveillance to the French as it headed out of the English channel with the British navy also shadowing another Russian vessel heading north towards the Baltics.
When the Yantar broke away from the Golovko and headed north into the Irish sea, it was shadowed by HMS Cattistock, with the operation becoming public when the ship activated its automatic identification for about four minutes on Thursday when it was south of the Isle of Man.
According to reports, it switched off its transponders transmitting its position after entering the Irish EEZ but the Irish vessel continued to shadow it.
They tried to make contact with the ship but Russian personnel did not respond and at about 3am on Friday it left the waters and headed south.